The Insects Are Coming

So in less-exciting news, we have had a few insect visitors lately come into our apartment, which means that I always have a flip-flop in one hand so that I can be on the ready. Not that I would kill them or anything; it’s so that I can throw it to Sister Branch who can then kill the bugs while I run away screaming, haha! While we were finding last night, the HUGEST bug I’ve ever seen landed on the back of Sister Branch and started making crazy noises, and I had to hit her with my Book of Mormon over and over until I killed it. I think that we have both been pretty traumatized this week.

We got to visit a less-active at her house with like half the ward, which was super awesome and she is cute! We are going to try working with her because lately we haven’t had a lot of less-actives that we’re teaching. To tell you how cute she is, when she saw the bites on our legs, she ran back into a room and got some oil and started rubbing it all over our legs–it was the cutest!

This week was kind of rough because people kept canceling on us and we didn’t really seem to be having a lot of success with anything that we were doing. We were super excited to teach Sister Lo, whose husband is less-active, but right as we were heading out the door she called and canceled. I guess that it was just kind of the culmination of everything, and it really got me down in the moment. But instead of letting it keep me down, Sister Branch and I looked at the situation and evaluated the things that we could change to really help our area have more progress. We promised each other–but most importantly we promised the Lord–that we were truly going to do everything in our power from there on out to find those people who are ready to receive us. And I’m not saying that blessings always come immediately, maybe it’s more our perspective and that we are able to more fully recognize the blessings that our Heavenly Father has given us. But just in those couple of days since then we have already seen so many more miracles!

Yesterday after church we were waiting for an investigator when in popped Sister Lo and her husband and three little kids. We were super surprised to see them, because we hadn’t scheduled them, and our ward’s church was already over by that time. It turns out that their family was out for a walk and as it started to pour rain, they just happened to be by our church building and their youngest son begged if they could go in for a minute–so they did! It was actually perfect timing because another ward’s sacrament meeting was just starting, so we were able to accompany them for a little bit. It was such a huge blessing, and the timing of the rain and everything was just too perfect for Heavenly Father to not have been involved in it! We have been trying so hard to get them to come to church and they finally came!!

We also had a lesson with a former, where we taught the plan of salvation and she told us all about her beliefs about what she thought the afterworld would be like just based purely on her own imagination and reasoning. Even though it was different from what we believed, it still had so many similarities that it was cool to see how she on her own had already come up with so much truth!

So the theme of this week was definitely testing and chastening. Earlier this week I was reading in Mosiah 23:

21 Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith.

As I was reading it I was like, “Yay! Trials are so great because we can learn!” But then the week progressed and I found myself really kind of struggling and viewed the scripture from a different perspective entirely. I realized that Heavenly Father truly was chastening me in that very moment because I still had a few more lessons that He needed me to learn. Not only am I grateful for trials because they test me, but because I have an actual opportunity to use my faith. Because after all, that’s what we have faith for, right? To use it! It isn’t just magically kept in store somewhere within you, it’s there for you to use and apply to the situations that you’re facing in this very day!!

Love you all!! I hope that you are able to conquer any bugs that come against you this week!!